Cutcliffe letting youngsters learn

DURHAM — It's unclear if Duke is deeper this season in the defensive secondary or if Duke coach David Cutcliffe is just more willing to put his fastest players on the field come what way.

Either way Cutcliffe is letting fresehmen defensive backs Matt Daniels, who made his first career start at safety in the win over Virginia on Saturday, and Lee Butler learn on the field.

"Absolutely you'll you see more of them," Cutcliffe said during his Sunday teleconference. "I challenged both of them during our open date to pick it up and they have from the standpoint of assignments, technique, and confidence. It's hard to put a young guy into the secondary or anywhere if you don't trust them."

Cutcliffe said the two true freshmen — he recruited Daniels out of Fayetteville, Ga., and Butler out of Anderson, S.C. — might be the fastest players on the Duke team. Cutcliffe believes all his charges will benefit the longer they're exposed to Duke's new training regimen. It goes double for rookies like Daniels and Butler, running backs Jay Hollingsworth and Tony Jackson, and receiver Johnny Williams who are already getting on the field.

"(With Butler and Daniels), they're really good athletes and their bodies responded well to weight training this summer," Cutcliffe said. "At first, they might have some hamstring problems because they hadn't worked or run like we do. They're beyond that now. Mentally and physically they're ready to move forward."